This invention relates to a motor vehicle clutch control system and more particularly to a motor vehicle clutch control system in which the operator may choose between a manual mode operation of the clutch and a power mode operation of the clutch.
Motor vehicles since their inception have required some manner of gear change mechanism to satisfy the varying torque and speed requirements encountered during the typical duty cycle of a motor vehicle. For many years these gear change mechanisms were manual in the sense that they required an operator input from a shift lever and operator operation of a clutch to effect each desired gear change ratio. More recently, so-called "automatic" transmissions have become popular in which much of the shifting is done without operator input in response to sensed speed and throttle opening parameters. These automatic transmissions, however, are typically relatively expensive and inherently involve a fuel economy penalty as compared to manual transmissions. They also take away much of the control of the vehicle from the driver. Various attempts have been made in the past to combine the low cost, superior fuel economy, and driver control aspects of a manual transmission with the convenience aspects of an automatic transmission. Specifically, various attempts have been made to provide automatic or semi-automatic shifting for manual transmissions including systems in which the driver may at his option choose as between fully manual or semi-automatic shifting. However, none of these prior art attempts to facilitate and simplify the shifting of a manual transmission have met with any degree of commercial success since they provided a slow or imprecise shifting action and/or have generated excessive warranty and maintenance costs.